wonder(ing)land

Our midwife was on vacation for a month, so I hadn’t seen her for what seemed like months (I did have another midwife check on me, however). We had a nice long visit today, after a week or so of postponement.  She had to push me to Friday because this week she attended 4 unexpected births. At least three of those, she surmises, could have potentially ended in a cesarean had they happen in a hospital or the birthing center. At the very least, the women would have been artificially induced for laboring too long; two of them labored for more than 2.5 days, water broken and all. Her mission in life, she said, is to do all that is in her power to prevent cesareans. (Apparently, her other mission is to protect woman’s perineum. On more than one occasion I heard her say: “First time mom, 10 pound baby, intact perineum.”)

I love asking her about the births she witnesses. I love, love how proud and satisfied she is with her work, how tireless and honest. She just let’s things happen naturally while monitoring for problems. That’s precious, rare, beautiful. It’s what I didn’t know I dreamed of.

So, because of her, I can report that we are doing fine over here. The boy’s head is wedged in my pelvis, his back is going along the left side of my belly (favorable), and what I thought was his head is actually his cutie-pie bum hitting my ribs. My belly measures 31 centimeters, which is exactly right at my 31 weeks (it should measure the number of weeks plus/minus 2). My weight gain is great, 15lb so far, it can be double that by the end. Blood sugar is good (the number is 120, should be under 140), as well as blood pressure (104/60). We’re so ok right now, I could dance.

Week 31 belly

It was a beautiful day in Brooklyn.

The 441/CKAB Code
[www.wonder-ing-land.com]
[Law in effect as of September 20, 2008]

CKAB FAMILY HEALTH AND WELFARE

APARTMENT AIR POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL

Sec. 0001. CKAB findings and declaration of purpose

(a) Findings

The CKAB Congress finds–

(1) that all of the CKAB’s population is located at The 441;

(2) that the amount and complexity of apartment air pollution brought about by new mattress, dry-cleaning hanging on the parlor room door, rugs, paint, shampoos, soaps and cleaning products containing unregulated hazardous chemicals, PVC toys that family is bound to gift the child(ren) has resulted in dangers to the physical and mental welfare of CK, AB and CKAB-Baby;

(3) the above mentioned air pollution has a specific long term effect on AB. She has gone of the deep end thus causing undue distress to CK and CKAB-Baby who was hoping for a more elated in-utero experience (he will not pursue legal action);

(4) that apartment air pollution prevention (the reduction or elimination, through any measures, of the amount of pollutants) and apartment air pollution control is the primary responsibility of CKAB government; and

(5) that CKAB leadership and financial output coupled with gentle communication of preferences to friends and — especially — family is essential for the development of programs to prevent and control apartment air pollution.

(b) Declaration of purpose

(1) to protect and enhance the quality of The 441’s air so as to promote the CKAB family health and welfare and the creativity of said population;

(2) to initiate and accelerate a research and development program to achieve the prevention and control of apartment air pollution;

(3) to provide information to friends and family on execution of The 441’s apartment air pollution prevention and control

(4) to encourage and assist friends and family in the development and operation of their own apartment air pollution prevention and control programs; and

(5) to give AB a piece of mind, CK his wife, and CKAB-Baby happy last days in-utero.

Sec. 0002. CKAB pollution prevention measures

The following will be implemented immediately

(1) the new hallway jute rug (lined with some smelly rubber/plastic) will be aired out on the roof of The 441 until it off-gases its smell or rots, whichever comes first;

(2) the new mattress will be vacuumed weekly to absorb VOCs. CKAB committee will meet to approve the budget for allergen mattress encasing, preferably organic wool or one made of natural latex;

(3) acquisition of organic bedding, budget meeting pending;

(4) windows will be kept open for as long as possible during initial implementaion of the program. The favorable 4th floor location of The 441 is above the generally low-trafficked, tree-lined street therefore accessible to some outdoor clean air;

(5) acquisition of 3 indoor plants for each 100 square foot of The 441 (26 in total). Plants will be chosen from the varieties that absorb harmful chemicals: Boston fern, English ivy, spider plant, areca palm, chrysanthemum, dwarf date palm, striped dracaena, ficus, philodendron and others that become known to the committee;

(6) all the dry-cleaning will be taken out of plastic wrapping and aired out while CKAB attends benefit gig. Further research will be conducted on appropriate “green” alternative;

(7) upholstered furniture will be vacuumed weekly;

(8) Cleaning Supplies Replacement, a program started sometime in August of 2008, will continue to expand. Current alternatives such as 7th Generation all-purpose cleaner and others will be supplemented by home-made solution of water, vinegar, baking soda and maybe some natural, vegetable soap, enhanced with essential oils;

(9) future painting will be done using milk based paints (thanks Greg Picard for the tip); and

(10) there will be a moratorium placed on new furniture unless super earth and air friendly, while within the congressional budget. Used furniture will be at least 3 years old.

Amendments

2008–Declaration amended par. (3) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (3) read as follows: “apartment air pollution prevention and control programs.”

2008 — Sec(2)(4) - Prior to amendment, par. (4) read as follows: “low trafficked tree lined street”

Resources

The Environmental Illness Resource Blog

When I first started this blog, I imagined myself writing funny or beautiful observations from our daily lives in eager anticipation of impending parenthood (so I picked out a nice Sakura design to represent it). Little did I know, the uglier facts of life reared up and are threatening to take over the humor and beauty: our toxic world (so maybe I need to change the design to something dark and gloomy?).

When someone had cautioned me last Halloween about possible toxicity of my green facial mask which I wore through the night, I promptly dismissed her. But after getting pregnant, my research on “healthy, green and organic” inevitably brought up things like “toxic and chemical” and lo, my Halloween mask indeed proved to be toxic. Suddenly, I had an obsession. Chris had anticipated an onset of Howard-Hughes-like OCD for himself, but he’s now thinking I’ll get there first.

Here are some findings:

Makeup: a lot of makeup and perfumes contain chemicals called phthalates. You won’t find them listed in ingredients but if you see the word “fragrance” or “artificial fragrance,” you have in your hands a product that contains phthalates. When absorbed into blood through breathing, they imitate — and this is vicious — estrogen. You can imagine that this can be especially bad for little boys, in utero and out (some studies [pdf] blame phthalates for the steadily decreasing sperm count in Western men, among other things).

Makeup also contains different kinds of parabens. These are preservatives used to keep our products long lived. Parabens also tend to act as (mild) estrogen and are linked with breast cancer.

Furniture: our (particleboard, plywood, some hardwood) furniture contains formaldehyde that is ever so gently and persistently released into the air we breathe. Formaldehyde, apparently, aggravates respiratory organs (asthma sufferers beware) and may cause cancer.

Mattresses: these puppies must be fire-retardant (in the USA, you need a prescription from your doctor in order to buy non-fire retardant mattress, unless it’s made of wool). Sometimes, this fire-retardancy is achieved with chemicals called polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs (cousins of famous PCBs). This stuff causes problems with brain development, disrupts hormones, and, yes, can cause cancer. American women’s breast milk contains so much PBDEs that we’re off the charts compared to Europe.

Cleaning products: I don’t even want to get started on this one. It seems as if every bad chemical out there can be found in some or all of our cleaning products. Think all-purpose, window, toilet, rug, dish and laundry cleaners. I need a separate section just to wrap my head around this one. I’ll list a few that strike me:

• Bleach - respiratory irritant, major ozone killer and air pollutant
• Ammonia - respiratory problems, skin cancer
• Benzene - cancer
• Phthalates - estrogen fakers, cancer
• Butyl cellosolve (ominous last name) - neurotoxin, damages developing fetuses, especially fond of male reproductive glands

It hurts to continue.

Baby Bottles: a lot of baby (and other) bottles are made from polycarbonate plastic (can be labeled as #7 Other) which contains and therefore leaches bisphenol A (aka BPA) into the bottle’s contents. BPA is one of them estrogen simulators, aka hormone disruptor, definitely no good for little boys and is thought to cause early puberty in little girls. It’s also linked to diabetes and heart disease. FDA has recently deemed BPA safe for humans but a lot of folks are up in arms about this: check out the NPR coverage of this decision and the blurb in Time Magazine’s “Briefing” section (9/29/2008).

Plastic toys can be made from stuff (polystyrene, #6 plastic) that contains benzene. Benzene causes cancer.

Shower curtains, new cars, soft plastic toys, if they smell of plastic, contain phthalates. We already discussed those suckers (phthalates happen to be my pet chemical). Anything that smells ‘plastic-y’ or chemically is bad and, at the very least, it needs to be aired out somewhere where you can’t smell it.

Dry cleaning: formaldehyde and other gunk I haven’t bothered to looked into quite yet.

This article says it better.

In conclusion: ARGH!

Resources:

• Random Google searches
• Environmental Working Group
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Green This! Volume 1: Greening Your Cleaning (Green This!) by Deirdre Imus (thanks Jen)
• Green Babies, Sage Moms: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Your Organic Baby by Lynda Fassa (thanks Sarah)

There is a whole lot of the same and some of the new.

The same: I’m pregnant, just as I had been for the past 29+ weeks. And, while the feeling of bigness still comes as a novelty on occasion, I still manage to forget all about it for minutes at a time. I am, indeed, carrying a human being in there that will shortly overtake my life. But for now, this is still a whole lot of fun!

The new: It just might be the time to, you know, buy/get some stuff for our firstborn. For example, now-ish just might be the right time to get some diapers (the unbleached, if not necessarily organic, kind. And they need to be pre-pre-pre-pre-pre-washed). Maybe it’s also time to get us a dresser and set up our baby corner. Chris is advocating a changing table/dresser sorta item. I, you may have guessed, am generally against any particular one-purpose item (baby- and other-wise: we don’t own an ironing board). Worse even, an item that is sold to me under a pretex that I need it. You see, a baby changing table (even if it is a dresser) would be superfluous after we have no more diapers to change. And I don’t need it, I can change my baby on the floor, or on the bed, or on the table, thank you very much. At the same time, I’m keeping my eyes open. My annoyance at this might just melt at the sight of the first cute changing table I see on Craig’s list.

Other new: we started going to childbirth classes, with a group of 6 couples who are also planning births at home. It’s nice not having to defiantly-brag-about/defend our choice. We’re not elitist/special/freaky, just normal.

We were recently asked a question (you might even say we were being interviewed) about our decision to have a home birth (aka homebirth). I mustered out an answer, tried to tell the story but was worried about being long-winded. Consequently, I didn’t do the greatest of jobs. To remedy that episode, and in the interest of not forgetting the long process this has been, I’ve been composing a write up.

This all got started sometime, I think, in 2003. I was working for a baby magazine (its online division) when a colleague, let’s call him Steve, announced that he and his wife just had their second child. At home. In a (kiddie?) pool of water. Just him, his wife and their older child. I remember that the whole office was surprised, emotions ranging from complete shock to astonished curiosity. Steve told me that he and his wife were so badly treated in the hospital during the birth of their first child that they wowed never to do that again.

I started reading.

Around that time, I worked close to Mid-Manhattan Library and there I went during my lunch breaks. I skimmed a whole lot of books on birth. I found out about midwives, history of birth, the need for mammals to be in quiet dark places while birthing, the way that endorphins help labor and pain, they way adrenalin stalls it. I read that a perfectly normal labor started in the comfort of one’s home can completely stop once moved to the hospital and its well lit, scary urgency. This sounded important, but we weren’t having kids so I put that pet project on hold.

Life went on. Bookclub was reading a book on mom who had a home birth. A friend birthed a child with midwives in Pittsburgh. A co-worker in New York had a c-section after being induced before her due date for having a large baby. She later told me not to let the doctors induce me, it wasn’t worth it, they did that so she wouldn’t have a c-section. “You’ll have a c-section anyways. It’s best if they don’t rush you,” she said.

Understanding that I would have to find a doctor who would be on my side, I started looking around. I found that many women recommended Eden Fromberg, a holistic doctor, who was definitely the person to go to for natural childbirth. But I couldn’t find her anywhere, she wasn’t working at the LICH anymore and there was no forwarding address. By the time I finally found her, sometime in 2005, I had probably one unnecessary gyn procedure under my belt. My insurance was accepted at her office (alas, it’s not anymore) and I thought I found my answer. However, at our first meeting I found out that no, she doesn’t deliver babies anymore and that, when I’m ready, she would recommend midwives for home birth. There it was again — this midwife/home birth thing! (At the time, Eden introduced me to natural family planning - fertility awareness, which shaped our lives in a way we wouldn’t have predicted. Though, and little did I know then, it would take almost 3 years of charting before we as a couple were finally ready to get pregnant.)

Toward the end of 2007, I read Tina Cassidy’s book Birth and, in early 2008, thanks to a friend’s website earthmother.org, I found out about the movie The Business of Being Born. Both the book and the movie, at this point in my education, were preaching to the converted. All that was left to do was assuring Chris that we should do home birth. This I’ve done gracelessly but he’s handled it with an open mind I can only strive to have. Now, we are in hands of one capable midwife and we’re taking it one day at a time. I don’t know what is going to happen, but I do know that, should we end up in a hospital, it will be out of real necessity and not because someone arbitrarily decided that my baby is too big for my small pelvis or any other stock reason doctors give us for c-sections.

On Friday before Labor Day, a sporadically rainy day, mom and I drove on Pennsylvania’s route 28, about 40+ miles north to a dairy farm in search of raw milk. The farm, found on realmilk.com, would only sell us milk for few hours in the morning and few in the evening.  Route 28 goes upstream Allegheny river with  many beautiful sights I completely ignored in anticipation of acquiring what I thought was impossible when I first came to the United States some 15 years ago: real unadulterated milk. From cows that graze grass. Not even in vicinity of vitamins A and D. Honest milk.

When we showed up at the farm, I half expected one of those quaint but still artificial farm stores that would also sell country home memorabilia, preserves and baked goodies. But we found nothing like it. We drove up to the barn, past three beautiful grazers, confused what to do next. There was a small shack next to the barn with screen door from where we could hear voices. A collie dog ran out of her hiding and promptly sniffed me. Beauty. Mom stayed outside smoking her cigarette while I walked into the shack. The small space was mostly filled with a huge stainless steel milk-holding container and a big sink hooked to a lot of tubing that at the moment ran clear loud water. Lara, the farmer, said hi and non-ceremoniously filled my 2-gallon cooler by grabbing a metal bucket and reaching into the stainless steel contraption where milk whirled around. I had my loot.

Back at my parents’ new abode in North Side, mom and I poured the milk into 4 large bowls (but not before I filled a glass and drank it. It was delicious!) Since there was no way to drink all of that milk, we were going for cheese. Yogurt and cheese really. After three days of milk bowls sitting losely covered on top of the kitchen cabinets, we peaked at them. To be honest, it all looked a little suspect, you know, spoiled. But mom was not discouraged.  As soon as we drained the whey, the milk turned into beautiful farmer’s cheese (if you’ve never had it, it has the consistency of ricotta with sourness of cottage cheese). If I were to be dramatic at this point, I would say that after tasting the cheese I was moved and transported into the most precious childhood moments. It was authentic, real, true sir.

I believe it was yesterday I felt this for the first time: when the little one moved, I felt a little round shape touching my insides. I don’t know if it is the head or the little bum, but oh-my-god is this a cute feeling!

And, em, last month we saw the little one in electronic person. It’s a boy.

It's a boy...

Week 27 belly

I think we are officially in our third trimester.